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Washington Marriott Wardman Park
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: Woodley Park
2660 Woodley Rd NW
(between N 27th St & N Calvert St)
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 328-2000
2660 Woodley Rd NW
(between N 27th St & N Calvert St)
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 328-2000
- Nearest Transit:
-
Woodley Park-Zoo|Adams Morgan (Red)
- Price Range:
-
$$$
24 reviews for Washington Marriott Wardman Park
I'm a big believer in karma: the energy you put out there will be returned to you. Call it "The Golden Rule", karma, or whatever you'd like, the concept is the same. I scored this sweet hotel off of Priceline for $67/night during my last two nights in the nation's capital but the upgrade to a junior suite was all due to positive karmic energy (and a great front-desk gal - Georgia from Italy). Usually, I'm prepared to get the worst room in the house: next to the housekeeper breakroom or by the ice machine. But, I asked Georgia how her day was going before reaching for my wallet for the credit card and ID for check-in.
She expressed a little frustration with the bad attitude of some of DC's other service workers during her errands earlier that day and I prodded her to tell me more after looking around to make sure no one was waiting behind me. Next thing you know, we'd had a 5-minute conversation without checking me in. I apologized for monopolizing her time but she demurred and complimented me on my "positive outlook". At that point, I realized that this was not the first time on this trip that someone had commented on it. [Note to self: You've realized that you're a freak.] We continued for another 5 minutes having our impromptu Oprah-like show talking about this and her past years in Las Vegas.
Finally, I presented my card and ID and made a small request to have a room in the modern midrise, rather than the historic tower. Don't get me wrong: I like historic things - I just also like modern conveniences when it comes to hotel rooms. I like the Greek Parthenon - I just don't want to sleep there. At this point, Georgia said that she found a room but she also upgraded me, just for being nice. I told her that it wasn't necessary but she said it was her gift to me for taking the time to listen. Take a look at the photos and you tell me if being nice doesn't pay off.
Pros:
* The Woodley Park/Zoo red line Metro stop is literally at the foot of the driveway (look for the "Marriott Bus/Service Entrance" sign - don't let it deter you from walking up it to the "back" entrance).
* Quiet upscale neighborhood on upper Connecticut Avenue.
* Across the bridge from Adams Morgan and one stop away from Dupont Circle.
* Lots of food options within a 3-block radius. I counted at least 3 Indian restaurants on one block; two of them were next to each other. Now that's brutal competition.
* Lots of elevators to whisk you to your floor.
* Room linens were quality high-count, lots of newish pillows, and firm mattresses. Color scheme was warm without being riotous or inducing vertigo.
* Well-manicured landscape.
Cons:
* The place is huge - it almost has a train station feel to it in morning and early evenings with the masses running around since it is a big conference center hotel.
* My bathroom was smallish despite getting a fantastic upgrade to a huge room. They could've taken some square footage from the room and added it to the bath.
* Because the room was so huge, it made the room feel bereft of furniture. A few more pieces would have balanced it out nicely. Specifically, a coffee table and 2 more lamps. Because of placement, there was no way you could read your latest "Defense Quarterly" journal in bed.
Overall, this hotel is a great location: convenient to the tourist spots via Metro but also a nice oasis from the mobs after a day of touring (provided that you escape the conference mobs in the hotel, too). Definitely a great value for a Priceline bid.
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Summary: So, great garden area, half of the hotel is historic, right next to the metro, two blocks from the zoo, only a bridge separation from Adams Morgan or Dupont, three stops from the centrally located Metro Center, complete renovation of rooms within the last two years.... Not a bad option when visiting DC.
The Details:
My apartment window looks out onto the Marriott Wardman gardens and the historic Wardman Tower built in the early 1900s. The historic tower section and the gardens are the feature of the Woodley Park neighborhood (excluding the Zoo) with tulips in the Spring and generously catered events occasionally held for the local community. I greatly appreciate the Marriott for these things; I selfishly dislike the hotel for the influx of conference attendees who swarm the area.
In terms of the hotel itself, once the 2007 / 2008 underground parking garage construction and the guest room renovations were completed, the Wardman Marriott allowed visitors to tour their facilities and see the rooms. Multiple restaurants and conference centers, pools and a fitness center, a new ballroom, overhauled rooms with cushy mattresses, flat screen tvs, new carpet, and all new furniture.
This place is huge, maybe impersonal with all the conferences, but very nice. They said their average rate for a standard room is $450, but Im pretty sure they can be had for $250 or less depending on demand. Apparently, the historic Wardman Tower is only an additional $20 more for the same type room (though that cost is from 2007). I would stay here if I didn't already live next door.
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Thank you, Priceline, for the $85/night hook-up at this Marriott. Not even a block from the Woodley Park metro station, this hotel was convenient and well put-together. It was also recently renovated, so at least the décor didn't look like it was plucked from an 80s era Bret Easton Ellis novel. Since we were on vacation, I didn't really check the hotel against my usual criteria (free wireless for example. Hey, my computer was collecting dust at home.) But we were happy with our stay. (We were even happier when we figured out that the Woodley Park Metro elevator lets you out even closer to the hotel than if you take the escalator.)
I mean, really, though, $85/night from Priceline; definitely better than the $299/night I'd been seeing in the area. You win this round, Shatner! But I'll be back and let me tell you, revenge is a dish best served cold. And it is very cold in space.
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Very nice hotel with a fantastic location, walk to many different businesses right outside the door, you can also walk up to Cleveland Park or down to Dupont Circle or over to Adams Morgan. Metro is right there as well as buses that take you everywhere.
I got what they call a mini-suite, sort of a room and a half, but nice to have the extra room when you have a long stay. Nice outdoor pool and a good size fitness center. The maid gave me an extra blanket with a hand written note saying that I might need it. As I'm writing this review I am changing my rating from 3 stars to 4 stars.
i'm not a fan of marriott hotels. get with it already, you need quality wifi throughout your hotels (public areas and in-rooms).
positives:
-because this hotel was sub-par, i am creating a hotel list for business travelers
-venue of my conference, the only reason i stayed here
-near the woodley zoo and a metro stop
-pretty garden
negatives:
-because this hotel was sub-par, i am creating a hotel list for business travelers
-no in room wifi
-heater was not working and it took 4 calls to get it fixed
-my room was never cleaned
-they forgot to note my late check-out and bothered me several times
-old toilet
-bed, left a lot more comfort to be desired
Had a very nice time here on Valentines. Nice room, comfy bed, the bathroom was okay. My only problem is that the shower head is made for really short people. I had to bend my knees to get my hair wet.
I really enjoyed the late check out (noon) and the location was great. We jumped right on the train to go to dinner in Dupont and then easy enough to get back after dinner. I price-lined and got a really good rate.
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I just worked at a conference in this hotel and stayed 9 days in a row here, so I think that I have insight that a lot of other guests might not have had. First, I had to do room checks for a lot of our VIP speakers, and I have to say, all rooms, whether they are suites or standard rooms, are pretty amazing.
The staff is nice and very helpful. The gym is GREAT. Room service menu is so-so. I had a junior suite with a living room and separate bedroom, and let me tell you, it is worth every penny (even though I wasn't the one paying for it...haha).
The hotel is HUGE. It is in a great convenient neighborhood. It is kind of far away from all of the tourist sights, but so what? The metro is right in front of the hotel and will take you there in minutes.
Overall, this is a great hotel. I definetly recommend it!
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I'm usually a Marriott fan but I'm kind of upset so I'm going to take it out on the hotel. I must have accidentally left my daughter's teddie bear there. At least my wife tells me that's where it was so I believe her. I thought I looked at everything.
So we call to double check. The loss and prevention person was really rude after we called a couple of times to double check if anything turned up. Like he wasn't totally sympathetic to a customer losing something with probably sentimental value. Something that's discontinued by the vendor.
If we did lose it then maybe somebody working there has it but didn't turn it in to loss and prevention. All I know is we had it when we we're staying there and then we went to another hotel it was completely gone.
Oh well .. maybe if they we're helpful. At least it was close to the National Zoo which is free. And close to travel.
Another non-kid friendly item. You have to pay for disney. They only had cartoon channel and I hate that channel the amount of ads. Need more PBS or something kid friendly. And you have to pay for kid stuff. Luckily I brought a DVD.
Hope the loss and prevention person gets some training because he was mean after a while.
I forgot I should review them on their site. I'm a Marriott member.
The location is excellent. It's across the street from the metro (Woodley Park/ Adams Morgan stop), so it's just a short trip to eateries at Dupont Circle and a no-transfer ride to Chinatown and the national mall. It's also a 5-10 min walk to places in Adams Morgan and Cleveland park and the zoo.
Now the negatives. Typically all I use a hotel for is a place to sleep, and the Marriott Wardman Park receives an average grade for it. Bed was pretty comfortable. Pillows not so much. They were a selection of awkward sizes and mixed firmness from night to night (I feel there should be a joke in there). There was an annoying rumble/motor sound in the room that we believe came from the central air.
We were there for a conference (held in the hotel) this past week, so we spent a lot of time in the hotel. The place is huge and I suppose the conference related facilities were good. However the hotel catered lunches and dinner were far from delicious. I've had better food at my high school cafeteria.
And now the biggest gripe. You have to pay $13 for one day of internet! WTF?!? You'd think if a Best Western of La Quinta can provide free wireless, a Marriott could? Especially if it's trying to cater to a "conference crowd."
Oh I'm rambling now, but a couple other notes... our TV (which automatically turns on at a HIGH volume) signal went out one night and it took about 15 hours to fix. The concierge tried to scam us on scheduling a shuttle to the airport. We ended up taking cabs.
Location is good though.
edit (2 hours later):
I just found out my card was charged about 2.5 times the amount listed on my folio upon check-out. Supposedly it's a reservation "hold" and will be replaced with the correct amount by tomorrow morning. A reservation hold of 10 times more than one night's stay? Am I just ignorant or is this typical? Subtract one star. Location is good though.
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Really cool hotel. Stayed here once for my birthday. You can totally get lost in this hotel, they have all these different wings, and halls, that if you go out to have a few drinks and come back, you might not remember where you are supposed to turn, or what elevator you're supposed to take.
Very convenient to the zoo, adams morgan, rock creek parkway... rooms are decent size, average marriott decor.. a hotel I'd recommend to people coming from out of town because it's in a nice area of the city, and there are cute restaurants/shops near by.
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Just this past weekend my company held a seminar here. Since we were going to be here for a few days we each were housed in the hotel. First of all it was beautiful. The grounds were impeccably manicured and the inside was clean.
My room was incredibly comfortable, the bathroom was beautiful, the shower had incredible water pressure and I had plenty of closet space to hang my suits. And a big perk is they had an iHome alarm clock to charge my Ipod and to wake up with my own music. Even the TV was nice (not that I had much time to watch any)! My only room complaint was that I was really far from where our staff held meals and the ballroom where the seminar was held.
The hotel food was awesome. We had 3 square meals every day at the hotel and each was amazing. They even accommodated the vegetarians on our staff. Fresh fruit was included at every meal, as was a salad and many entrees and sides. We were stuffed every meal!
And the staff was incredibly accommodating. The man I dealt with the most being the stage manager was named Ted (or Tom) and he kept checking in with me to make sure we had everything we needed and replenishing everything the morning of the show. I couldn't have asked for a better hotel experience.
A big plus is they have a full service Starbucks on site. The minus is it closes at 4. And the metro is right outside the hotel grounds! As is many restaurants and one of the biggest DC bar scenes, Adam's Morgan. It just helps I went to college in the area and know my way around.
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I stayed here twice in 2 weeks for separate business trips. This is a pretty big hotel, which makes it good for conventions. The rooms are average size, the bed and sheets are really comfortable and soft. But, as other Yelpers have pointed out the bathrooms are very very small, much smaller than you'd expect for a hotel this size. The showers have good water pressure which almost makes up for the size. I like the fitness center, open 24/7 to guests, not super fancy but has all the basic equipment necessary for a good work out.
The first time I stayed here it was in a regular room and they forgot to clean my room. My second stay was on the concierge level and it was great. Complimentary breakfast, non-alcoholic beverages and hors d'oeuvres. Room service menu could be expanded but the meals were pretty good. In-hotel restaurants weren't bad, I'd say average. Another thing I like about this hotel is its location to the Redline Metro, extremely convenient! The walls were alittle thin but I had no problems with the noise. Overall, a nice hotel for the business traveler.
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Very nice hotel. Would have given 4-stars...but, the hotel staff are kind of snobs....which i didnt appreciate.
However, the hotel is in a great location. The zoo is walking distance! There are plenty of restaurants right outside the hotel. The DC metro station (woodley park) is right outside too!
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I attended a conference that was based at this hotel, but I stayed across the street in the Omni. This hotel is very confusing as the 'Lobby' is on the 8th floor, and the elevators are not always labeled clearly. This hotel is in dire need of signage regarding conference rooms and such.
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Based on my last visit to the hotel, which was in August 2007 for a fairly major conference (over 1,000 people)
A good hotel by capital city standards. Rooms a little smaller than perhaps one might expect in a US full-service hotel, but still comfortable and larger than those in comparable European capital cities! The staff were excellent throughout and I had a very enjoyable stay. Agreed with others about the thin walls to a certain degree, but no problems with noise despite the high occupancy of the hotel.
The metro is barely a 2 minute walk from the hotel -- quickest way is out of the back entrance to the hotel next to the bar and straight down the ramp -- the metro is then right in front of you. Plenty of bars and restaurants nearby if you want to get away from hotel fare, and Adams Morgan is a 15-20 minute pleasant (and safe) walk across the Calvert St/Ellington Bridge -- generally well-trafficked by pedestrians during the day, or take the bus from the metro stop.
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We had a wonderful stay here during spring break last week! The lovely grounds were in full bloom with hyacinth, tulips, daffodils and of course, the stunning cherry blossom trees. Our room in the older tower was spacious and had a nice view of the grounds.
This is a perfect location if you have kids-- we went to the Zoo 2x throughout the week and it was a quick 3-block walk with a quick stop at Starbucks on the way (coffee at the hotel = not good). The Red Metro stop was right at our doorstep which was so convenient although that 4- minute ride up or down the escalator (yes, we timed it!) got old after about 2 days.
I would have given this particular Marriott 5 stars had our Canon digital camera not been stolen right out of our room when we went to breakfast* our last day-!!! Creepy.
It took *forever* to get the Loss & Prevention officer to come to our room and we almost missed our flight out of town. We all got the sense that he did not believe us but why in the world would we pretend to lose the 200+ wonderful memories of family and friends during our lovely vacation? (ATTN: hotel burglars: go ahead and take the cameras but leave the memory cards, OK? why do you need other people's photos?).
The officer said he'd give us a report in a few days so we'll see what happens. I've travelled all over the world and have stayed in numerous hotels--- this was an unpleasant first.
* the breakfast buffet ($14.95) in the Stone's Throw Restaurant is wonderful with a huge selection of fresh and tasty delights.
Wardman Park is D.C.'s largest hotel as far as rooms go -- they have more than 1,300 of them. It's separated into an old pretty side and a newer ugly side. I've only stayed in the old side and the suite we had was huge and very classically furnished. I think this hotel is a bit on the expensive side, but it's in a very nice neighborhood near the zoo and Woodley Park metro station. This is a big convention hotel, but regular guests shouldn't overlook it.
One bad thing I've heard related to the Wardman Park is that they are tearing down dozens and dozens of trees to build condos in cooperation with the hotel.
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Hmmm... not sure what to think about the other reviews here. Despite my being sick the entire time I stayed here, therefore, I was miserable, the hotel was comfortable.
The lobby is expansive and impressive with the upward ceiling. There is quite a bit of remodeling going on from now through next summer, so travelers beware and ask before you make a reservation.
There are two completely different looks as far as rooms go...the classic, colonial style and the newer contemporary style. When I checked in I was in the original building, the Wardman Tower, but due to illness and the suggestion of sensitivities to mold, I was moved to the Center tower. This is the older colonial style rooms, updated of course. Then there is the Center tower, where I stayed nights 2-4. This is very modern, contemporary in design and style. I liked it just as much as the colonial rooms. Two very different flavors, but both quite nice.
Extensive conference facilities, which is what we will be using next March for our conference. Hopefully, we will see cherry blossoms and tulips!
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This place has a great lobby for people-watching. (weird, huh?) I was here for a geeky convention, but the lobby was always great to hang out in. There's a bar attached to the lobby, with tons of chairs and people hanging out all day/night long. Two restaurants in the hotel as well, plus a starbucks and a small airport-style cafe.
Conference facilities seemed to be a bit sub-par though (almost dingy) - very uninspired.
My biggest gripe here was with my room. Terribly thin walls, hotel staff wandering around all night long talking loudly on their nextel phones, and construction noise from nearby rooms starting as early as 7am. I was here for 5 nights, and every night something different (bad different) happened.
This is the only hotel I've stayed in in DC, so I'm not really sure how it may compare to others.
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Huge tulip garden!
Warning: I've never stayed here, so these 5 stars aren't for the hotel itself! It's all about the tulips! Usually, flowers don't do much for me, but I was amazed here. When tulips are in season, there's about a bazillion tulips of different varieties all over the place. Definitely worth checking out.
Tips: Come during tulip season (early April to the first week in May). Close to the National Zoo.
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Summary:
--factory convention hotel
--somewhat close to Metro, though the Metro stop is more North than a tourist might want
--ok rooms
--l-o-n-g walks to get off the grounds
--huge, boring pool area
Yet Another DC Convention hotel with a bunch of off site restaurants fairly close by, though only a few are worth eating at. Make sure your business pays the T&E expense.
Good cell phone reception in the pool area, which salvaged an otherwise wasted stay.
**3.5**
I've always admired this hotel from afar, specifically for the beautiful grounds. I've never had a reason to go into it, but I attended a conference there today and had a pretty good experience. The hotel is huuuge, it is almost like navigating through a maze, which at times reminded me of The Shining. It is close to the metro and the 96 bus dropped me off about a block from it, so it was very convenient for me. I found the staff to be very friendly and professional. Now, this may be their job, but as someone who travels frequently, that is not always the case. It was raining nonstop, I unfortunately forgot my umbrella on the bus (one of those days) and one of the employees gave me his umbrella to take home and saved me from getting soaked. And I totally agree with the comment about getting hit on by the suits, it will happen for sure! Conference rooms were nothing special and I could hear what the other rooms were sayings.. I am curious if the rooms are this way.
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This monstrosity of a hotel is really overbearing. From the lobby, to the event rooms, to the towers themselves, this place is really a bit big for me. I mean I love big hotels, but this one just has a really barren and basic chasm kind of feel to it. I don't know how to explain it any other way than that!
It's a lovely hotel...large, but that just means there's more to love. Yes, the lobby is expansive and coated in marble, so just give up on trying to have a phone conversation in here. There are a few restaurants to choose from. The hotel bar is, well...a hotel bar, so get ready to be hit on by executives in business suits. The Starbucks is stupidly expensive. But the facility is pretty, although the carpets make me think of the wallpaper scene in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas...they are absolutely coated in vine patterns. I stayed in the center tower and my room was great, containing a huge flat screen TV and toiletries that smelled like orange ginger. I did have an issue with the staff running around in the halls at 4 AM on their Nextel phones, and just kinda hanging out having a conversation right next to my room. Also, the paper guy apparently has a few rage issues, as he was apparently taking out his aggression by launching newspapers directly at the room doors. Great location, though...in walking distance of many restaurants and a metro stop almost at the front door.
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